Fantasy Vampire Corps of Eldergaard

[Reynarda]

Alyx remained looking entirely displeased as the others discussed whether they would stay or go. Quite frankly, she was hoping to cut their losses, ditch the others, and find their ship. But she knew Astrid, and she guessed Leo would not want to leave Cyn to fend for himself--and Alyx wasn't sure if she did either.

Astrid accepted the knife when Rose presented it. They technically did, but--once again--Astrid no longer did. It would certainly be nice to have one if they ran into this clan Alyx was fairly certain would not hold her status in high esteem. She stashed the blade with her other blades and her pistols.

Astrid shrugged. "Depends on how much he doesn't want to see you or Alyx again," she said.

To be honest, she figured Admiral Jorgenson wouldn't be too concerned. His only true purpose had been to make sure Astrid did not get any recognition for this. He would not think the princess could survive in the Djevel Mountains, but Maksim might. It really depended on how pissed Maksim was over Cyn melting silver on his face.

Alyx gave a firm nod as the group seemed to decide to move. She flicked her eyes to the direction that was opposite of where she estimated the Salazar clan's home was. They would want to put as much distance between themselves and the vampires. And she should probably go first so she could feel around for any of the wild magic left over from the war between the Eldergaardians and the clans.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Georgiana's admission.

"You what." Alyx asked in the same flat tone she had used when Astrid told her Rose was going to hold a sword to Leo's neck.

Astrid frowned. Her tone extremely confused, she asked, "How would they expect you?"

Alyx steepled her fingers under her nose and took a long deep breath. Exhaling, she angled the tips of her fingers to point at Georgiana. "You are attempting to make an alliance with the Salazar clan?" Without waiting for a response, she continued, "Of all the idiotic, irresponsible, ignorant--"

"What?" Astrid cut in before Alyx could think of another adjective beginning with "i". "You're making an alliance with vampires?"

"They know literally nothing about Allarians or the war or anything else," Alyx said, and Astrid realized she had been applying all those adjectives to the vampires and not to the princess. "They lost none of their children. They are holed up in their remote mountains--no. Nope. We are not taking you there."

Astrid shifted. They might be able to learn something if they did take the Allarians there. And anyway, the princess would probably go marching off regardless. "Alyx..."

"No."

Astrid cast about for something that would get Alyx to come with them. Threatening to go without her would just make her mad, and pleading with her wouldn't do much. Ordering her to come would just make her laugh. Astrid hit upon the answer, and she did her best to hide her smirk. "If they are so ignorant, perhaps they could use a more knowledgeable vampire to advise them."

Or maybe she could tell them exactly how they were screwing over the rest of the clans with this attempt at an alliance, Alyx thought grimly. Astrid had a point. She flicked her eyes to Leo. She didn't know how the clan would react to him, but she knew it wouldn't be good. They could also go after Astrid if they figured out who she was. This was going to be a great way to end a terrible sequence of events.

Alyx deflated with a small huff. "On one condition," she said, her voice sounding resigned, "None of you are to tell anyone who Astrid is or I will kill you myself."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Cyn looked at Rose’s stump of a wrist and made a face.

“I could maybe weld it on, if I had some solder ‘n’ a better torch,” he said, not looking too hopeful. “But not with any movement. Ev’ry wire ‘n’ circuit connects to a nerve endin’, and I ain’t got the skills or the knowledge to fix all that. Besides, I ain’t got the tools needed to do it, unless we scavenge the nighthawk for parts, ‘n’ that’ll take a while.”

Rose shook his head.

“We can keep the hand in case, but I don’t want to put that much effort into something with such a high chance of failure,” he said, and Cyn nodded.

“You need help with it?” He asked as Rose began to unbutton his coat, fumbling a bit with it before he managed to shrug it off his shoulder. The arm itself went all the way up to his shoulder blade, and Cyn jumped up to help with it. Rose was wearing a simple tank-top under his jacket. And the tattoos continued on his chest and around his shoulder blade, different flowers and animals spread across his skin. A wreath of roses surrounded the cap at his shoulder, and Cyn fiddled with the device for a second before the arm popped right off. The cap that interfaced with his nervous system remained, but he wasn’t touching that under any circumstances.

Cyn took the damaged arm and eyed the duffle bag. It wasn’t too heavy or big, but it still took a bit of maneuvering to get it in while Rose buttoned his jacket up again, leaving the sleeve empty.

Rose froze when Georgiana mentioned that the vampires were expecting her, and Alyx went on her tirade. His mouth pulled into a thin line. He hadn’t heard about this at all. Either Finn didn’t know, or he didn’t think to tell him, but Rose was furious. Not only did it put him in an extremely dangerous position, but it put his contact in the Eldergaardian army in danger as well. If he had known, he would have rearranged things so that Camellia had taken the escort job.

“I will accompany you, princess,” he said slowly, trying to figure out a way to word this without giving away too much. He would have dragged Georgiana away to discus this with her, but it wasn’t entirely her fault. Nobody knew what Rose actually did except Finn and the old general, and occasionally Finn’s father. This had been a complete oversight on their parts. “However I will not make contact with a vampire clan.”

Leo narrowed his eyes as he watched Rose’s reaction. He didn’t know the specifics of his job, but he had figured out some of the basics of it over the years, and he knew it involved dangerous assassinations. If the clan were not involved in the war, as Alyx said, then it was unlikely but not impossible that his position could be jeopardized. Even exposing himself to Astrid and Alyx had been very dangerous, and had he had any alternatives he likely wouldn’t have ever risked it.

Cyn looked a little confused, and he bit his lip. As far as he could tell, an alliance would be a good thing, though he could sort of see why Alyx wouldn’t want one, he thought. But he wasn’t comfortable voicing his thoughts.

“I’ll protect the princess,” Leo said finally as he gave Rose a Look. “But you’re going to owe me, and I will decide when and how you’ll repay it,” he said. Rose did not look overjoyed, but it wasn’t like he had much of an option.

“I don’t trust you,” he said bluntly, and Cyn looked worriedly between the two of them before Rose met his eyes. “But you know that if something goes wrong and she gets injured, Hyacinth would be severely punished for incompetence.”

Leo bared his teeth at him, frustrated that Rose was using his brother as a bargaining chip. But he did know that it was only the truth.

“Fine,” he said bitterly, then eyed the detached copper hand and picked it up, linking their pinky fingers together. “I promise I will do my best to ensure your charge’s safety, within my means.”

Rose rolled his eyes, and Cyn reached over and gently flicked his shoulder.

Leo turned back to Alyx and nodded. It would be hard not to call her captain, but he’d get used to it.

“I am... unfortunately not well versed in the politics,” he said slowly, and Rose actually looked like he pitied him for a second.

“Pretend it’s one of your father’s parties,” he said. In other words, take whatever abuse people threw at him without any reaction. He could do that. He was a bit out of practice, having come out of his shell a little in the past two years, but he knew how to deal with people who hated him for his very existence.

 

[jones573]

Gigi nodded at Cyn's assessment of the arm. If she had all of her tools with her and was familiar with the original tech, she might have been comfortable offering her skills in making sure the nerves were undamaged and aligned with the mechanical components- But. Plus, the Eldergaardians seemed to assume her talents were like Cyn's but much lesser, and she wasn't overly interested in dissuading of them at this point.

Technically she had introduced herself as being a third researcher from Morland, but they probably didn't know what that meant. They probably didn't even know that Morland wasn't like the various, more well known institutes of gears and engines- Morland studied life. And death, and the things in between.

"My business is my business, and I'm not currently seeking input on it," Gigi told Alyx primly, which was about as much confirmation or denial as the commander was going to get regarding potential planned alliances with any clans. She ducked into the remains of the Nighthawk briefly and scrounged about- Rose had already taken most of what might be useful of course, but a second look never hurt. She listened in on the conversation as she investigated, and emerged with some things crammed into her ruined shirt, which she was tying shut with the sleeves and attaching to her belt.

She hummed in thought when Rose said he wouldn't meet with a vampire clan- Technically she didn't need him to, but... What else was he supposed to do in the meantime? Wait outside and hope no one noticed him? Start hiking back to Allaria and hope no one noticed him?

"Let's focus on surviving the journey first before we get too bogged down in the logistics of being there," she advised the group at large, looking to the horizon to gauge how much time they might be able to walk before it became truly dark. She shot a look at Astrid, as if to commiserate with the captain about annoyance of soldier-types and their belief that a bodyguard somehow solved all woes, before remembering that they were not really allies, much less friends.

"You are in the Eldergaardian military, Mr. Vesper," Gigi pointed out dryly. "I am not inclined to accept your offer of protection, as I imagine your higher leadership would like to see me- at the very least- secure in a dark cell somewhere."

She frowned at Alyx's request- Demand, more like. Commander Draya was apparently even less well-versed in politics than Leo, apparently. You never told your foe what it was you wanted them not to do. Unless Draya was playing a complicated game- Which Gigi shouldn't put past her, but didn't seem likely.

"I've no problem dropping your name and rank," she told the Captain with a shrug. "Provided I have something else to refer to you by. But," she warned. "Your ship has been in the area, and I cannot imagine you are a completely unknown entity. Just because we say nothing does not mean no one will piece together your identity. If they do- I will not cover for you."

She had no desire in getting involved in some elaborate cover story for the sake of a circumstantial ally.

 

[Reynarda]

Astrid watched with curiosity as Cyn helped Rose remove his mechanical arm. The Eldergaardians had prosthetic, but they were magicked to respond to the thoughts of the user. The fact that the Allarians could do something similar with science was fascinating.

Alyx watched as well, but for a separate purpose. Something about Rose Barlowe put her on edge--and not just because he had threatened Leo. He had known Leo was her fledgling for one thing, and he the way he had frozen when Leo bit him made her think he had been bitten before. It wasn't unusual for vampire squadrons to feed during battle, but how had he survived?

Alyx's wariness was only further justified when Rose said he would go with Georgiana but would disappear when the clan appeared. Why didn't he want them to know he was there? Would they know who he was? Alyx decided to do some poking around if she could.

Astrid caught the look Gigi shot her and rolled her eyes in agreement. The princess had jumped out of an airship--did Rose really think she needed Leo's help to do stupid things?

Alyx's eyes narrowed as she listened to the exchange between Leo and Rose about the princess. Her lip twisted--was he using his younger brother as collateral? Despicable.

But an idea presented itself. Astrid was going to hate it, but Alyx would rather Astrid be angry at her than be dead. "What if we offered collateral to assure you your princess would be safe--collateral other than your own brother, I mean," she added, her tone condescending. "Astrid could--"

"Hell, no!" Astrid cut her off. "I'm not staying behind with Rose."

Astrid understood why Alyx wanted her to stay behind, but if Alyx's agitation was any indication of what sort of greeting awaited her at the Salazar clan's home, Astrid was not letting her commander take the fall for her captain's decisions again. Besides, she didn't really want to split up from the other two.

Alyx pinched the bridge of her nose. She was not having this argument with her captain in front of the Allarians.

"What about the rules of hospitality?" Astrid asked. "And if you can protect Georgiana, surely you can protect me."

Alyx pursed her lips. If Clan Salazar found out Astrid was the daughter of the supreme general, they would most likely kill her--laws of hospitality be damned. But if Alyx made it very clear that Astrid was hers, they might back off.

"They'll respect your clan," Astrid said, trying not to be too smug she had won an argument for once considering that her commander had not said a word.

Alyx was beginning to wish she had just stayed on the Griffin. She could feel her hair turning white. After several seconds of internal grumbling, she sighed. "Yes, they'll respect my clan."

"Astrid is a fairly common name, so it should be okay to call me that, right?" Astrid asked, her smile smug despite her best efforts.

Alyx nodded. "No surnames, no rank."

Though, word might have spread about to whom she had been assigned if Cyril had gotten a letter to their aunt without it being checked. Cyril would have written favorably regardless because he liked Astrid, but the military preferred to keep secrets from the clans. They claimed it was in the name of "national security", but Alyx thought they liked to keep the clans in the dark.

"Would they know uniforms?" Astrid asked, already removing her coat.

Alyx didn't want to admit she didn't know, so she said, "Possibly."

Astrid nodded. Each rank had a slightly different uniform. Alyx's commander uniform was entirely black other than the red dragon wings on her back and the two red bars on her sleeves, and Leo's squadron uniform included a red coat that made vampires easy to spot and to frightened the enemy. Astrid's was a mix of greys and blacks with three bars on the sleeves of her coat. Unless they had seen the uniforms before, they wouldn't know Astrid's rank. Though, her coat was a bit flashier and longer than the other two’s, which was why she was removing it.

Astrid tied her coat around her waist. This left all her weapons in clear view, so Astrid shifted them to her hips. There, Alyx could claim she was a midshipman or whatever. Though, she might claim Astrid was her cabin boy to get back at her for insisting on coming. The hardest part was going to be not giving orders.

"Sometimes, if you don't say it out loud, vampires will just sort of ignore things so as not to start a fight," Astrid told Georgiana when she pointed out that the clan may very well figure out who she was regardless. "And they don't want to start a disagreement with Clan Draya."

Or they might enjoy holding it over Clan Draya's head, Alyx thought. She flicked her eyes to Georgiana when she said she wouldn't cover for her. "I wouldn't expect anything less, your highness," she said sarcastically.

When he expressed his concerns, Alyx turned to Leo. She didn't know what sort of man his father was, but she guessed Leo hadn't much enjoyed those parties. She had no idea how to explain the Salazar clan would probably be terrible to him based on the fact that he was her war fledgling, and she felt frustrated that no amount of threatening or reminding them of who she was would get them to stop. This was going to suck so much. And most likely Clan Salazar would ask after her family and Maksim and everything else she didn't want to explain to the others. She was going to be dealing with that, dealing with them being terrible to herself and Leo, keeping Astrid’s identity a secret, and trying to stop whatever the princess was up to. This was going to be a horrible few days--or, however long the princess would need. Or how long Alyx would need to destroy the alliance.

"And Leo," she added after a second’s deliberation, “don't leave my side. They'll be terrible to us both--do your best not to react."

Honestly, if she trusted Rose farther than she could throw him--which wasn't far since she barely came up to his chest and was significantly less muscular--she would just leave Leo with him. Really, she would leave them all behind and escort Georgiana herself, but that didn't seem to be an option if the rest were of the same mind as Astrid.

Sighing, Alyx turned one hundred and eighty degrees to face the direction she had been trying not to go. She removed the black sash she kept tied around her hips--Maksim hadn't dared remove it even though he had known what it was--and shook it out. She spun the scarf around her shoulders and pulled the hood up. “Let’s get as close to them before nightfall. They’ll have enough of an advantage without you lot being unable to see.”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo hummed, placing one finger to his chin.

"While that makes sense," he said to Gigi, a thoughtful expression coming to his face. "How can you not accept my protection? I mean, you're not my princess, so I don't have to listen to you, and the only Allarian who could overpower me is Rose, and he won't be there, so. I can just protect you whether you like it or not."

He sounded very smug, and Rose gave him an exceedingly unimpressed look.

"Besides, this is a favour for a friend, unrelated to military actions. Unless my captain or commander order me not to protect you, I'll probably just do what I want." He could tell that she very much did not want this favour, but that just made him more determined to do it, just to be a pest.

"I will be accompanying you up to the edge of the clan's territory," Rose reminded him. "I will do my own job until then, and if the princess doesn't want you bothering her, I expect you to respect her wishes," he said, though he would feel a lot better with Leo on his side. Leo arched an eyebrow and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You know, I don't have to listen to you, either," he pointed out, and Rose glared at him.

"You never do," he said, and Leo nodded in agreement. Cyn looked worriedly between them, and he chewed on his lower lip.

"Maybe you shoul'nt antagonize anyone," he said, and Leo snorted. He would always antagonize someone, as long as it was safe to do so. But he had a soft spot for Cyn, so.

"Fine. I won't do anything unnecessary," he ceded.

He didn't seem too surprised by Alyx saying that they would be horrible to him. He was sort of expecting something like that.

"Don't worry, I can handle it," he said dryly. No different than when he was 12 and being introduced to the lords and ladies as the Vesper heir, pretending not to hear the mean comments said behind his back. He wondered if he should expect any level of physical hostility. He wasn't bad with pain, but he wasn't nearly as disciplined as someone like Rose. It might be harder to hide reactions if somebody beat him, but he doubted Alyx would let that happen.

Cyn frowned, twisting his hands back and forth.

"You could... I mean, maybe you could stay wit' me 'n' Rose?" he suggested, turning an inquiring look to Alyx, but Leo shook his head.

"It's fine, Cyn," he insisted. "It can't be any worse than my birthday parties."

He grinned, though it had the look of dark humour. Cyn didn't look completely convinced, but Rose shook his head and squeezed his shoulder.

"The princess is right, we can figure out specifics once we get there. For now, I'd say we probably have about... three hours of daylight left? Depending on the terrain, we could make it all the way there by nightfall, if they're only 10 kilometers away," Rose mused as he shrugged the duffle bag over his shoulder. "We should get moving. I don't want to make camp if we don't have to."

 

[jones573]

In a turn of events that did not surprise Gigi, considering the overall tone of the day thus far, the difficult terrain was not on their side. Neither was the daylight.

It slipped beneath the horizon, and they kept walking as the air grew colder and the sky even dimmer. They were all moving slowly, and Gigi knew she wasn't the only one tired and sore. But no one seemed willing to admit it.

Fine.

"We aren't going to make it there tonight," she announced. "I'm tired and we've all had a long day, and if we keep going in the dark I'm going to trip again," she said with finality. "We need to start looking for somewhere to stop and rest. Now."

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx had decided to lead them through the valley. They would have to climb up into the mountains eventually, but there was a path that lead directly up to the Salazar's mountain fortress from the valley.

Unfortunately, either her memory was off--unlikely--or the Salazars had changed the terrain when they had withdrawn--far more likely considering they could wield earth magic. Several times, they ran into a large rock formation and would have to go around it.

Worse, there were several areas of bad magic. Alyx would suddenly freeze, and Astrid would almost smack into her. Alyx would stretch her hands out, and something in front of them would ignite with a terrible screeching sound. Shaking her head, Alyx would lead them around the spot, instructing them to follow her footsteps exactly.

At least they hadn't run into any of the creatures that lived around there. However, as dusk fell, they could hear things calling among the mountains and Astrid swore she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. This was why Astrid's people had taken to the sky long ago.

As dark drew closer, Alyx plodded doggedly on. She hadn't said much the entire journey and hadn't even smiled when Astrid had tried to joke about the situation.

"Alyx," Astrid called when Georgiana stopped and declared she wouldn't be going on.

Alyx--who had been picking her way through the sparse vegetation of the side of a tall mountain--stopped and looked back down. "These mountains are dangerous."

"All the more reason to take shelter for the night," Astrid called back. "I saw a outcropping of rock just back there."

Alyx glanced back the way she was headed and shrugged. That would be as good a place as any. Many of the mountains were dormant volcanoes, so there was not really any reason to try to avoid them. "We'll have to test any water we find."

Astrid pointed out the outcropping she had found, and Alyx walked the perimeter to make sure it didn't already have an occupant while the rest set up camp.

Something let out a long, otherworldly howl, and Astrid shivered. "What was that?"

"Fire wolf," Alyx said, lowering her hood as she strode back into the shelter. "They shouldn't bother us."

"What will bother us?" Astrid asked, looking through her first aid runes to see if she had any protection wards prepared.

"Wyrms."

"Great," Astrid said. "Know some wards for that?"

"I know some for dragons. Should translate all right."

"I thought you and the dragons had a treaty," Astrid said, pulling out a magicked knife and tossing it to Alyx.

Alyx caught it. "We do. Write the skeleton and I'll fill it in."

"We'll ward the perimeter," Astrid explained to the others. "But we should probably still set watches."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Cyn was very grateful when Georgiana called for a rest. It had been a very long day for all of them, but he was not one for hiking. He wasn’t too out of shape, but he also was not used to this kind of physical activity, and he sighed in relief when Alyx agreed to let them make camp. His legs were aching and while they had been trying to conserve water as well as possible, they had already used up one of the bottles Rose had brought back from the ship. Cyn’s throat was dry, but he had no idea how long it would be until they had another clean water source, so he didn’t complain.

He sat down on a large rock and massaged his calves, wincing a little as the muscle pulled. Rose eyed the two Eldergaardians for a moment, his mouth turning down at the mention of wards. They could do that, but he didn’t necessarily trust it. He set down his bag, which he and Cyn had taken turns carrying, and began to rummage through it.

Cyn hadn’t really taken a look inside, so he was a little surprised to see Rose pull out what looked to him like useless junk. Little pieces of metal and scrap, a few empty soda cans that he would have thrown away himself. He raised his eyebrows, but Rose set them all down on the ground, grabbing a spool of fishing wire next.

“What’re you doing?” Cyn asked, curious, and Rose rolled his shoulder to get some of the kinks out of it.

“Even if we have wards, there’s no guarantee they’ll work against everything. Even if something is unlikely to bother us, you never know,” he explained as he waved Cyn over. “Here, take this and put it through here...”

Cyn’s eyebrows rose as he realized that what he had thought was junk was actually pretty well prepared. There were sanded holes through the metal, and he strung the line through them as instructed while Rose held the spool. Eventually He grabbed one end of the line and had Cyn hold the other as they carried it past the edge of camp, close enough to be heard, but not too close for the warning to be useless. Once he figured out a spot, he went about instructing Cyn on how to set up a trip wire.

Leo watched from where he’d sat himself down on another rock, trying to hide his interest. It was a very low tech idea, but would likely be effective. Rose had chosen a spot protected by the rock around them so that the wind wouldn’t interfere. Clever. He wondered if he’d ever been on the ground here before, or if he was just a survival nut.

“Is there anything I should do?” He asked Alyx as Cyn and Rose finished up. He didn’t know magic, so he couldn’t help there, and Rose seemed to know how to do... whatever he was doing. He felt a little useless, but Cyn smiled at him as he jogged back, trip wire set up.

“Eat somethin,” he said with a grin, and Leo made a face.

“I did earlier,” he pointed out, because the princess’s blood, as much as he didn’t really like her, had been far superior to the horrible dehydrated rations that Rose brought. Cyn made a guilty face.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to... I mean, I forgot,” he admitted, and Leo shrugged. It wasn’t really something that particularly bothered him. He had never been too attached to his humanity to begin with, so it didn’t bother him to lose it.

“You eat something,” he said instead, looking over their rations and picking out one sealed package. “Apparently this is rehydrated scrambled egg substitute. Sounds delicious. You want any, princess, or does this sort of stuff not suit your royal palate?”

 

[jones573]

Gigi watched with interest as the Eldergaardians set up wards, and Cyn and Rose set up a trip wire.

She felt a little useless just sitting on a rock and rebraiding her hair, but there wasn't really anything she could contribute besides getting in the way.

"Pretty sure I've collected something in my socks here if you're hungry," Gig said dryly. She'd removed her sock from her booted foot and put it on the shoeless foot. Her socks were good, thick wool and provided a decent coverage, especially since Alyx had tried to find smooth paths- But there were certainly times she'd stepped down and hidden a wince. There was definitely blood soaked into the wool.

She looked at Leo with amusement.

"I enjoy a refined taste, yes- But I'm hardly one to expect it in all situations," she said demurely. "I lived on Drasiac prison gruel for nearly three months, so," she pointed out jokingly, then frowned. Strictly speaking, that wasn't public knowledge- According to official reports, she'd been in the country side recovering from an illness. Not in a foreign country's capitol city, and certainly not sitting in their prison.

It was the sort of thing she would have reminded Crane of, when he gave her his usual grief about being a princess- But Crane wasn't here.

"But I'll wait until everyone else has eaten, thanks," she passed. Her father had not been a strong influence in her life, but he had taught her to see to the needs of her crew before her own. "Make sure we save some," she pointed out. Just because they hoped to find their destination by tomorrow didn't necessarily mean they would. And whatever Rose's plans were for once they separated, she would like not to leave him completely empty-handed.

"I don't suppose any of the plantlife is edible?," she asked. Not that there was a lot of it around.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx trailed behind Astrid, filling in the ward with her knowledge of wyrm-repellent magic. Working together, it only took them about ten minutes to get it set up. The ward prepared, Astrid and Alyx stood in the center of the camp to activate it. Astrid repeated the motions using her breath she had used to activate the wards on the healing ribbon she had used on Cyn, but Alyx didn't really look like she was doing anything. The runes around the camp created a ring of purple light for just a second before going dark.

"You've earned a break, I think," Alyx answered Leo's question. Crouching next to him, she eyed the rations. That looked nasty. Even if she were not a vampire, she doubted she would want that. Shaking her head, she rose and slipped from the camp.

"Would a fire attract too much attention?" Astrid called to her.

"Yes!" Alyx called back before disappearing behind a rock formation.

Astrid glanced at Leo and rolled her eyes. "I guess I should have asked if it would attract more attention than I would care to deal with."

At Georgiana's question, Astrid glanced around. Most of the vegetation was composed of small bushes and hardy-looking weeds. "I'm sure it's edible, but I doubt it's anything but bitter. What were you doing in a Drasiac prison?"

Alyx returned about fifteen minutes later carrying a pair of brush rabbits. One looked decidedly drier than the other, and she dropped the rabbit that still had blood next to Leo.

"It's not amazing, but it'll keep your strength up," she said.

Astrid arched her eyebrow at the exsanguinated rabbit Alyx was crouching over. "So no fire, huh?"

Alyx shot her a peevish look. "I'm cooking it, Captain."

"You burned it last time."

Alyx almost admitted that last time she had burned it on purpose but decided against it. She and Astrid had been on less-friendly terms last time they had been grounded and dealing with the wilds of the landscape. At least this time they were in their own country. She could feel the energy of the meat, and so stopped before it over cooked. She handed the rabbit to Astrid and then repeated the same process on the other rabbit.

Astrid skinned and cut up the rabbits. "It's not much," she told the others, "but it'll supplement the rations."

Finished with her part of the food preparations, Alyx sat herself between Cyn and Leo. She glanced between them before settling her gaze on Cyn. "'Sol' is short for 'Solomon', hm?"

She didn't usually pry. Her vampires could keep their secrets or share them. However, there was a part of her that was a little hurt Leo apparently had not entrusted her with his actual name. Names were extremely important and told other people what sort of person the bearer was.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo made a disgusted face.

“No offence, princess, but I’ll let your actual subjects be the ones to lick your feet,” he said. Rose glared at him, because that was inappropriate, but he seemed more busy doing... something else. Leo had no idea what and didn’t really care to know.

“I agree, no fire,” Rose said as he laid his hands down on the ground, testing the temperature. It had been warm to hot all day, and very dry, which had been bad when they had a limited water supply. But they had been sweating, and the temperature would be sure to cool down at night. He drew the emergency blanket out and laid it down on the ground.

“Princess, you should sleep on this,” he said, and then eyed Cyn and Leo, then Astrid and Alyx. The blanket was only really good big enough for one person to wrap up in, though two could perhaps fit if it was kept flat. “Make sure you keep it underneath you. It’s insulated, so it should keep you warm.

There wasn’t really any chance of hypothermia, not in this climate, but keeping warm was still important.

He looked intrigued when Georgiana mentioned she had been in prison, though he politely didn’t ask. Not that Astrid seemed to have any problem with that.

Leo took the rabbit offered to him and bit into it, and Cyn made a face as he watched him drain it. It was kind of gross, honestly. But Leo did look a bit better after he was done. Cyn frowned, then rolled his sleeve down.

“You’ve got some—“ he said, wiping at a spot of blood on the corner of Leo’s mouth. The vampire looked a little affronted, because Cyn was doing that thing where he acted like his mom and that was very embarrassing in front of his commanding officers, but he didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so he let him do it.

Rose was a bit fascinated by the magical cooking, though he tried to look very disinterested. He had wanted to do something to insulate them from the ground when they slept, but there wasn’t enough grass or foliage to collect. The last time he’d done this had been in a forest, and it had been very different. Also he’d had two working arms, which it turned out made an incredible difference.

Leo looked to Alyx and couldn’t help but look a little guilty. Right. He had kept a lot from her. He looked down at his lap, fidgeting with his hands.

“Yes. Though only a few people actually call me that anymore,” he explained, giving Cyn a pointed look. He at least had the decency to look a bit sheepish.

“My father changed my name upon my adoption. Leonardo was his grandfather’s name, I think. Honestly, I answer to either one, so I don’t mind which one you use.” He hesitated for a second, then looked at the ground. “It’s not that I wanted to hide things from you, really. I did at first, but then I was just... nervous, I guess.”

Scared of rejection was more accurate, though he knew it was irrational.

 

[jones573]

Gigi actually laughed at Leo's joke- She hadn't even thought of it that way.

"Same thing as most people- Serving a sentence," she replied to Astrid glibly.

"Thank you, Mr Barlowe," Gigi said as she sat down, crossing her ankles as lady-like as possible. "I have a time piece if we would like to set watches," she said, pulling out the compass and pocketwatch contraption from her pocket and unhooking the chain.

Despite her relaxed posture, she was watching the interactions of the others most intently.

 

[Reynarda]

As she passed out the cut up rabbit, Astrid eyed Georgiana, trying to fathom why a princess would end up serving a sentence in a foreign country. Probably something stupid. She arched her eyebrow. "What did you do to land yourself in prison? Rob a bank?"

Astrid caught the look Rose gave the rest of them as he spread the blanket for Georgiana. "Don't worry about Alyx, Leo, and I. We're used to cooler temperatures here in the north." She smiled. "And if not, we can huddle together."

Astrid glanced at Georgiana's mechanical contraption. That was pretty cool. The Eldergaardians had clocks--they ran based on how magic degraded over time--but airship captains had other methods of keeping track of the passage of time.

"What? You can't use the stars?" she asked lightheartedly. Astrid lifted her finger and pointed at the horizon of the darkening sky. "There's Belaya, the Huntress, rising like she always does at dusk in the spring. Her Loyal Hound is right behind her. When they are a quarter of the way up, we'll be able to see the Three Generals. Once Belaya's Loyal Hound is directly overhead, that's midnight." Astrid grinned. "I don't mind taking first watch. I can wake the next person when the Three Generals cross the quarter mark."

Alyx considered this. Sometimes name changes were appropriate. She thought Leo suited him. She tried translating Solomon into her own tongue, but she wasn't sure if it was the proper Allarian meaning or not. Still, since it was not a name he had chosen for himself, she said, "Which do you prefer?"

Alyx smiled. Her tone amused, she said. "Nervous? Whatever for? You only had a new home, a new family, and a new way of life. Nothing to be nervous of." She nudged Leo lightly with her elbow. "I told you two years ago your story was your own and I would never pressure you into sharing it. However, that doesn't mean I'm not willing to hear it or do not care about your past. It also doesn't change anything. Or past informs who we are, but it is not who we are."

If Alyx ever met this Allarian war hero, they would have words. She had long ago guessed at the reasons behind Leo's antics, but she was a little angry that someone had once made Leo feel like not being the perfect mold of whatever a superior wanted would get him cast aside.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Rose nodded, pleased that he had been able to do some good. This was one of the things he was quite good at, and honestly, one of the things he enjoyed. Not so much being stranded in the wilderness, but being away from the city, living off the land. If he ever managed to retire in one piece in another twenty years or so, he'd probably like to do that. Move somewhere up near the border where land was cheap and build himself a little cottage or something.

Not that there was much point thinking about it now. Retirement and freedom were a very long way away, if they came at all.

He eyed the princess' watch, and then looked up at the stars as Astrid began her explanation.

"I think we have different names for them," he said. "That's Venadi, followed by Canis Majora. I'm not sure exactly what your three generals are, but they're likely Fortuna, Fatum and Vita."

Cyn held up his hand, having been listening in half to the conversation.

"I say we use the timepiece," he said. "Because I ain't know what any of those are."

Rose rolled his eyes, but he hadn't really expected any different. He did balk a bit at Astrid offering to take first watch. He knew that they were technically allies at the moment, but he still wasn't sure he trusted her to watch him while he slept.

"We should do watch in pairs," he suggested. "There's three of us and three of you, so that way each party has somebody awake at the same time."

He was sure it was very inappropriate to ask the princess to keep watch, but that was the only way that it would be somewhat even. He eyed their current members with a slight frown. There was a clear difference in fighting strength between the two sides, but he would have to deal with that. His gut instinct was to put Cyn and Leo together, since Leo had a hard time saying no to him, but Leo also knew exactly how easily he could overpower him. Besides, it was Georgiana's final call, really.

"Do you have any suggestions for assignments, princess?"


Leo thought about it for a long moment. He had resented his new name at first, but now...

"I like Leo," he said finally. It had come to fit over the past two years, and he was a lot more comfortable with it. "Just not Leonardo. That one sounds so pretentious."

Cyn hummed, still sitting on Alyx's other side.

"D'you want me to call you Leo, then? I've been usin' Sol 'cause it's a habit, but I can try 'n' change it," he said. Leo thought on that for a minute, then shook his head.

"Sol or Solomon is fine from you. We met back when that was my name, so it's fine," he decided. Cyn seemed pleased with that answer, and he got up to give the two of them some privacy. He figured this was a conversation they would rather have on their own.

Leo chuckled when she elbowed him, but then he shifted awkwardly. On the one hand, it would feel good not to have anymore secrets, but on the other, it wasn't exactly a very pleasant story, for the most part. He knew that it could have gone much, much worse for him, but that didn't mean he enjoyed his time as Edward Vesper's son any more.

"Rose, Cyn, their sister Camellia and I grew up in the same orphanage," he said after a moment. "That's how we know each other. Eventually Edward Vesper adopted me to be his heir after his son Claude was paralyzed in an accident. I grew up with them until I turned eighteen and went to the front lines. Then I met you. That was actually my first ever battle, and we lost very spectacularly. Though in hindsight, I'm not actually very upset about it."

He shifted again, fiddling with his hands in his lap. This was very hard and very embarrassing to say, but he also felt like he had to say it.

"I'm honestly grateful, I guess. I miss my brother sometimes, and Camellia. I did miss Cyn, too, and--" he frowned as he caught himself on Rose's name, and stubbornly refused to say it. He probably wasn't listening out of respect, but he still wasn't going to let him have that win. "Well, anyways. I won't lie and say that I particularly care about country or glory or anything, but I am... happy here."

His face was a bit pink, and he wished it was cold or warm enough to blame on the weather.

 

[jones573]

"The charges were for solicitation, racketeering, and general disruptions of the peace and morality," Gigi rattled off. "Oh! And intent to commit arson," she added. The raid had been sudden, and she hadn't exactly been able to pretend she wasn't one of the gambling den's employed pleasure girls, considering the circumstances. She'd been lucky they'd believed her story about wanting to set fire to a former beau's home, though- Her supplies would have been otherwise difficult to explain.

She contemplated Rose's question as she chewed on some rabbit.

She would prefer Rose to take whatever shift Alyx did- He would probably prefer that too. And she would also prefer them on the middle shift, when the danger might be greater and someone less disciplined would have a hard time staying awake after so brief a rest.

But she also didn't want to take her own shift after Rose did- That he'd included her in 'the three of us' was promising, but too often Crane had simply not woken her and taken a double shift himself.

"I can stay up with the Ca- with midshipman Astrid," she corrected herself. "Then we'll wake Draya and Rose, and Vesper and Cyn can do the last shift," she suggested. She was pretty confident the engineer would be safe from the vampire. And safe with, besides. "If that works for everyone?"

 

[Reynarda]

Astrid blinked at Georgiana’s answer. She wasn’t the least surprised at the arson charge, but the others? “Let me rephrase: what were you doing that forced you to tell a story that would result in you getting charged with that? I’m finding the ‘solicitation’ charge a little hard to believe.”

Astrid raised her eyebrows and glanced back at the familiar constellations. "Is Venadi a hunter?" she asked, because, in her opinion, it was very obvious that Belaya held a bow, but perhaps Allarians didn't see it that way? At least they could agree that the Loyal Hound was definitely a dog. "The Three Generals look like three people taking council together. What are Fortuna, Fatum, and Vita? Are they scientists or something?"

Astrid sighed when Rose suggested they take watch in pairs. She had planned to keep just let Cyn and Georgiana sleep as she wasn't entirely sure how well they could keep watch. But she understood Rose's wariness. She knew that she should be more wary of the others, but she figured Alyx had enough distrust for them both. Or perhaps she just trusted too much in the others' motivations. Cyn seemed like he just wanted everyone to get along and stay alive. Rose wanted to protect the princess, and his secondary motivation was keeping Cyn--and possibly Leo--alive. And Georgiana wanted to reach the vampires to make a treaty or whatever. Perhaps she should reevaluate. Cyn had melted a ring on a vampire commander's face. Georgiana was a bit... unpredictable, to put it kindly. Who knew, she might decide she could make it to the Salazar clan's fortress without Alyx's help--especially now that Astrid guessed they were close. Rose had threatened to kill Leo, and Alyx had not tried to call his bluff, so he must have not been bluffing.

Then there was her own crew. Leo was loyal, but now he had two people he had known from when he was younger. Astrid was confident he would not sacrifice her or Alyx for the princess, but he might put himself in danger for the other two Allarians.

Then there was Alyx. Astrid knew Alyx would protect her crewmates with her life, but Astrid should probably have a conversation with her commander about this whole alliance thing. Alyx had seemed very upset about it, and Astrid had been very confused. Alyx was loyal to her, but only her. Providing her captain was safe, the commander would probably watch Eldergaard burn with a cup of coffee in her hand. Astrid needed to know why Alyx was so against an alliance that could get her people out of the war.

Astrid was drawn from her thoughts by Rose's question. She wasn't sure why he kept deferring to Georgiana when he clearly had more experience doing this sort of thing. Even if the princess was not as, well, helpless, as she had first thought, Rose had been tailing her for a while without her noticing.

Astrid glanced at the group. Leo and Georgiana would spend the entire watch trying to out-sass each other. Alyx would veto Leo and Rose. That left Cyn and Leo. Astrid would have liked to chat with Rose about his experiences, but she guessed he might be able to sneak something past her. Alyx and Rose seemed equally wary of each other, but they seemed to understand each other's motivations. That left Astrid and the princess. She was fine with that.

Georgiana seemed to agree. Good.

“Fine by me,” she said, glad the princess was thinking along the same lines. “Alyx, how far away are we?”

Alyx paused in her conversation and looked up at the darkening sky and then at the surrounding mountains. She glanced at Astrid and did an Eldergaardian military hand signal for three clicks. That was assuming the path was as she remembered it, however, and it obviously was not.

Astrid nodded. “Keep an eye out for vampires.”





Alyx nodded thoughtfully at Leo’s decision. She had only ever called him "Leonardo" a few times when he had been very close to getting himself in trouble. But she agreed, it did sound pretentious. Leo suited him far better.

She had said her piece and hadn't really expected an explanation, so she was a little surprised when Leo began to explain. She listened in silence, her eyebrows lifted in concern. She noticed he hadn't mentioned much about his father and hadn't said he missed him. At least it seemed his brother had been kind to him. She caught the pause, but kept herself from glancing at Rose.

Alyx wanted nothing more than to tell him he could see his family and friends again when this was all over, but she was already thinking best-case scenario would be her retreating with her remaining squadron to her clan's mountain castle and praying the Eldergaardians would leave them alone. She would probably never see Astrid again, and she couldn't promise Leo would see his friends or family again.

This war--

She stopped when Leo told her he was happy.

She thought back to that battle. The Allarians had lost spectacularly. She had been very pleased her plan had worked so well. She remembered standing in front of the row of prisoners and telling them they had a choice. Eldergaardians didn't take prisoners. The prisoners had been terrified, staring at the cold commander with her red-clad vampires behind her. And Leo--well, she had liked him instantly, though she never would have admitted it.

Alyx smiled, resisting the sudden urge to ruffle Leo's hair. It would be a bit difficult considering his hair was still in braids and was significantly longer than Cyril's. "I'm glad you're here. You certainly make things more interesting." She paused, a small smirk sliding across her face. "Like rescuing me with an enemy ship. That was very interesting."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Rose nodded.

"Yes, the huntsman. Fortuna, Fatum and Vita are the three fates. What has been, is now and is yet to be. The youngest sister spins the thread of life, the middle sister measures it, and the eldest cuts it. It's an old legend, but most of the constellations are named after those. We have more scientific names for the specific stars, but I don't really know many of them. I learned astronomy for practical reasons rather than a real interest," he explained.

He considered the watch shifts with interest, then nodded.

"That sounds fine to me," he agreed.

Cyn nodded as well. He was looking forward to getting the chance to actually talk with Leo, because everything had been kind of crazy so far. But he wouldn't actually say that out loud.

Instead he decided to find a place to snuggle down before they lost all their light. He chose a spot back by the solid rock, and curled up comfortably.

"Should we keep any source o' light going?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "You have a glowstick, right, Rose?"

Rose pursed his lips, but nodded. He only had three of them and wanted to make them last. But he figured that he was less likely to be completely reliant on them on his own, so. He grabbed his bag and pulled it out. It hadn't been activated yet, so it was just a red tube about half a foot long.

"I don't want to start it yet," he warned. "It'll only last about twelve hours, so we'll wait for it to get completely dark first."

It was dim enough that it shouldn't draw in any animals, but bright enough to at least provide some security. Other than that, there weren't many clouds in the sky, so the stars should provide good coverage. Maybe they wouldn't even need it.


Leo could feel his cheeks warming a bit at the praise, and he couldn't help but smile a bit. He did groan when she brought up the disastrous rescue mission, though.

"Yeah, well. Not my best plan, admittedly, but I was around 90% sure he would have shot us down if we hadn't made contact," he grumbled. The dragon's lifeboats weren't exactly equipped to handle a lot of enemy fire, and fighting back would have been very difficult. Especially if he had decided to remain camouflaged. "Plus, I was hoping he was his sister. She's easier to deal with, in some ways. Less predictable, though. I also might have underestimated the princess' penchant for bullshittery. I weren't expecting you to jump out of a moving airship."

 

[jones573]

"I was lying," Georgiana replied, once again telling the truth without answering the question at all. "Maybe that's what I'm doing now," she said with a wink, but then shrugged. "Or maybe not."

"Someone else can use the blanket for awhile," she offered as she stood, watching as the others settled down. Standing watch while sitting down was an oxymoron, and counterproductive.

She nodded at Rose's assessment of glowstick usage to indict she understood- Unless they couldn't see and had a real need to, she wouldn't break one.

"I'm going to ask something that I assume you will think is a stupid question," Gigi told Astrid bluntly, talking more quietly now as the others got comfortable. "Can we leave the wards you've set? And if we do, can we pass back through them again?"

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx snorted when Leo admitted it wasn't his best idea. So it had been his idea. It could have been Crane's idea for all she knew, but she had a suspicion it had been Leo's. But it had been wise if Rose would have opened fire on them--and Alyx wouldn't put that past him. She thought about asking about Rose--especially since they were on watch together, it would be good to know more about him--but she didn't want to put Leo on the spot. So she kept quiet.

Until Leo said she had jumped out of a moving airship. "I was dragged out of a moving airship, thank you. That was all the princess. I was fully prepared to hold Maksim and his minions off until you and Astrid arrived."

Alyx was not about to admit she might not have held out that long.

"Guess we're settling in," Alyx said as Astrid and Georgiana rose to take their watch. "There's no ranks when surviving the night, so let me know if you want to share my scarf."

Alyx would have preferred to keep watch all night, but she knew that was unwise. She was exhausted, and she hadn't had much time for the blood she had consumed to settle. She joined Cyn close to the rock wall and curled up.


Astrid shook her head. That was probably the best answer she was going to get. This princess was nuts.

Astrid stretched and rolled her shoulders to wake her sore muscles. At Georgiana's question, Astrid held up her index finger and did her best impression of her father's voice. "The only stupid question is the question that remains unasked."

Astrid smiled. "Yes, and it won't keep you out unless you're what we warded against. It's multiple tiered," she explained, not sure how much Georgiana knew about ward magic. "So it'll keep out what we warded against--which was pretty much everything Alyx could think of: wyverns, wyrms, fire wolves, salamanders, vampires--but it'll set off an alarm and wake us all up if anything passes through it--even one of us."

Astrid paused. "Why? Nature calling? There's a small space over there that's secluded enough but still in the wards."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo rolled his eyes affectionately.

“Yes, of course. You would never do something rash or crazy like that,” he teased.

He glanced back as Gigi got up and left the blanket as free game. He snatched it up once she was clear, bringing it over to the corner and plopping down between Alyx and Cyn. The blanket was just big enough to cover the three of them if they snuggled in close, and it was nice and warm.

Rose frowned at him, eyes narrowed.

“You should insulate against the ground,” he pointed out, and Leo rolled his eyes.

“This is fine,” he said, letting out a little sigh and closing his eyes. Cyn laughed a little, then relaxed. The blanket did help a fair bit. He used his arms as a pillow, and the exhaustion from the day finally caught up with him. Leo opened one eye to look at him already drifting off, then closed it again.

This was kind of nice, all things considered.

Rose watched Astrid and Georgiana for a moment, then finally turned away and made his own spot a bit removed from the others. He wasn’t really comfortable cuddling with people who weren’t his family, and Cyn already had a buddy. He made himself comfortable and closed his eyes, though he was a light sleeper. Should anything happen, he’d be up in an instant.

 

[jones573]

"Maybe," Gigi conceded about why she had asked- It actually hadn't been on her mind, but of course now it was. She shifted uncomfortably where she stood. "All right, fine. I'll be back in a moment, holler if you need anything," she said as she darted off behind the rocks where Astrid had indicated.

Embarrassing, but necessary.

When she returned, she was holding several small toadstools with long rubbery stems.

"I was asking because I wasn't sure if this was a 'sit and wait to see if something bad happens' or a 'go out and make regular loops around the campsite while you wait to see if something bad happens' sort of watch shift," Gigi told Astrid conversationally.

"Seeing as its the first- Do you mind if I repack my wings," she asked, though she was already taking her coat off and loosening the belts of the harness. Though it was fairly lightweight, it was bulky when not packed down properly and one of the wingtips had dug into her side each time she'd turned too far to the left throughout the afternoon's hike.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx acted mock-offended that one of her vampires would accuse his commander of being rash and crazy as if she had not gotten them into this mess by purposefully getting herself arrested.

Alyx pulled the hood of her scarf over her head and scooted closer to Leo when he arrived with the blanket. She never would have taken the blanket for herself, but since it was here and she did have the next watch and the three of them were on the smaller side. She curled on her side so she could see the three that were still awake.

Cyn and Leo were already drifting off, but Alyx kept awake, watching Rose from under her hood. Only when he lay down did she close her eyes. She doubted he would go after Astrid, but it didn't hurt to be careful. She hadn't expected him to go after Leo, either, and he had.



Astrid chuckled as the princess darted off. While she waited for her watch partner to return, Astrid released the cord tying off her braid and ran her fingers through her hair to undo it. The she began braiding multiple small braids that would later be braided all together.

Astrid arched an eyebrow at the mushrooms but didn't ask. "Nah, the wards do most of the work. The watches are partly to get the others to sleep and partly as a first line of defense."

Astrid watched while Georgiana fiddled with the wings. Had she been wearing those the entire time? Astrid hadn't noticed them when she had first met the princess--which was just earlier that day, crazily enough. "I can't believe you jumped out of a moving airship without the ability to manipulate the air," she said, shaking her head. "Does it have an engine? Wind magi have gliders, but they're more for fun and we power them with our magic."

Astrid sighed, thinking of all the times she and her father had sneaked away from military functions to fly on their gliders. She hoped he was doing all right. She had been looking forward to seeing him after depositing Georgiana in the care of the generals. But who knew when they would next make it to the capitol?

Astrid eyed the princess for a second. "You sure this alliance is a good idea?" She dropped her hair to wave a hand dismissively. "You can say it's not an alliance all you want--Alyx is usually right." She picked up the locks she was braiding and resumed. "Regardless, how much do your people really know about vampires? They're a formidable people and they have a complicated etiquette system." Astrid snickered to herself. "And don't let Alyx and Leo fool you--not all vampires as nice as they are."

 

[jones573]

Gigi got the contraption all the way off and placed it down in front of her.

"Not this model, no," she admitted. "It only catches what wind is already there. My sister has tried some with engines, but they are... Unreliable." Combustible, she meant. "And too large to be folded down and hidden."

She pulled the stalks off two mushrooms, and exhaled a long breath over the upturned caps. A soft blue light began to glow from each, and Gigi smiled widely as she set them down to help illuminate her work space.

Her smile fell away as she concentrated on her work, tightening screws and ratcheting down levers that held springs coiled in place.

She was silent after Astrid's questioning. When the quiet had stretched long enough that it seemed Gigi might just fail to respond, she finally made a humming sound.

"You're right- Draya can hypothesize whatever she likes, and I still won't confirm or deny," Gigi said casually, holding a mushroom in one hand and examining a stretch of leather for any rips or tears. She looked up after her assessment, and even by the dim light of the toadstool cap, it was clear there was anger in her usually soft brown eyes.

"I will not discuss foreign policy with you, Leon. My country has been invaded, my lands are occupied and my people live in fear. Under the direction of your... Supreme general," she said harshly. She didn't say 'your mother', but the tilt of her head and firm set of her mouth certainly implied she was thinking it.

"So one 'princess' to another- Do not think my willingness to pretend we are not enemies is equivalent to having permission to act as if we are somehow... Friendly."

She had no interest in advice from Astrid Leon, whatever the intent behind it.

 

[Reynarda]

Astrid was secretly hoping the military would never see Georgiana's flying contraption. They would immediately realize what they could do with something the wind magi had designed for fun. Besides, individual flying soldiers sounded like a nightmare. They would be so easy to shoot down and what could they really do against armored airships?

Astrid chuckled at the unreliable comment. She assumed they would just quit and the flier would drop from the sky. Too bad they didn't have magic. Astrid decided not gloat about that. Not when she was attempting to build bridges.

She finished off the smaller braids and twisted them together to form a single braid. Georgiana wasn't going to respond--fine. Maybe she would at least think on what Astrid had said. She wouldn't be so worried about it herself if Alyx hadn't seemed so upset about it.

Astrid turned from her scan of the barren landscape when Georgiana spoke. 'Foreign policy'? Clan Salazar could be out for blood for all they knew. Astrid took a small step back from the venom in Georgiana's voice when she spoke of her mother. Astrid forget sometimes that her mother was the supreme general. To Astrid, she was just a general and her mother.

Astrid's hands curled into fists. She did not feel the need to explain her mother's decisions to a princess who had probably never fought to survive in her life. So Astrid tensed when Georgiana called her a princess.

"Do not presume we are on the same level, highness," Astrid snapped. Alyx stirred, so Astrid dropped her voice. "I wasn't born into my command. Everything I have, I earned. Your parents' position made your life easy; my parents' position made mine hell. So before you presume to think my kindness is beneath you, reconsider. I am merely concerned for the risk of your crew and mine." She flung her arm out at the four sleeping against the rock. "You don't seem to realize that your actions have consequences for your crew. Perhaps lives are cheap in Allaria, but they aren't in Eldergaard. You are walking into a situation that could spell the end of the people in your command and as best I can tell, you don't have much information. I am doing my best to keep mine alive, but if you insist on being an obtuse spoiled brat, then I will feel no guilt pulling my crew out at the slightest hint of trouble and leaving you and yours to burn in the fire you lit."

 

[jones573]

A hint of a smile appeared on Gigi's lips at Astrid's anger. Good. Let the other woman feel insulted.

"No, I shouldn't have compared us," Gigi agreed. "A princess, after all, should alway consider her duty to her people," she pointed out shrewdly. Who knew what duties a dictator's daughter concerned herself with? "Your forces occupy the majority of our farmlands. My people are starving. And for those living under your shadow, they worry not just about when they have last eaten, but when they will be fed to your army of slaves."

Gigi rolled her eyes at the captain. 'Spoiled brat'- She'd heard that before.

It wasn't as if she was unaware of the risks. She only acted as if she did not care about them because she wasn't in a position to heed them.

"I will do everything I can to make sure they return home safely," she told Astrid plainly. "But the lives of the few? We are inconsequential, when compared to the lives of the many."

She liked Cyn and Rose. She would mourn them if they died. But she wasn't going to put their safety above that of her country's.